Black Mountain's "Monster Mercs" were hired by Praetor and Geb, whose corporate headquarters are in Loveland, OH. It seems that a sculpture that Horatio Geb had made was stolen from their offices late one evening in April 2014 by what video showed to be seven frog men. The frog men had been sighted in the area since the 1950's, but had never been linked to any crimes in the area.What Project: Abyss discovered in an underwater lairs was an army of close to 50 frog men who were cavorting and croaking around the idol.Eden Good was able to establish communication and learned that Horatio Geb had spent many hours among the frog men and had sculpted their god, Tsathoggua, before his death. Tsathoggua had demanded that the sculpture be taken so that it could immortalize Geb. It was at that point that Dr. King discovered a "pod" that seemed to be pulsing at roughly the rate of a standard human heartbeat and gave the order to exterminate the army, burn the pod, and destroy the sculpture. For good measure the team even used shaped charges to destroy the underwater lair.However, sightings of the frog men continue to this day.

Right now at ENWorld you can vote for the 2016 Fan Favorite Publisher, actually six entries total.While I voted for my favorite full-time publishers, Monte Cook Games, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, and Schwalb Entertainment, I also voted for Timothy Brannan's The Other Side Publishing, Gold Piece Publications (the publisher of The Black Hack), and for my little vanity press, Cross Planes Game Studio.If you can spare a spot in your Top Six, please consider Cross Plane Game Studio, and I'd be greatly appreciative.

Cloud giants drift high above the Afterworld, the unchallenged masters of the sky, and the lords of all they survey. However, as they reach they end of their lives, they become too heavy to stay aloft and their final act is to tred upon the realm of man, walking storms that devastate anything in their path, until they dissipate or are destroyed.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

I've been lucky for the last few years of having some stable, fun and relaxing gaming groups. My monday group, in particular has been great and we have finished a short Feng Shui 2E game, a Shadows of the Demon Lord playtest game, and after about 18 months we are close to finishing my DnD 5E game (I've never ran a DnD game from level 1 to 20 before). The characters just hit level 18 and are seeking the Grace of Mystra to gain a Wish spell to destroy the Tarrasque (in this case, Tarrasque is Draconic for Vorel, the dead brother of Tiamat and Bahumut). They have won Mystra's favor after rescuing Elminster from Avernus (though due it was the actions of a former member of the party that sent him there).It's really cool seeing the players enjoy their high level abilities and I've spent about the last nine levels weaving in opponents who are essentially all the creatures I have ever wanted to use in a DnD campaign.I'm guessing we will be done by August, at least I'll stop when they hit level 20 for a break from DnD 5E (I've basically been running and playing it for over three years now, though I'm running Princes of Apocalypse on Fridays).It's very refreshing to finish games and I hope to continue the trend.

Bystanders, as they have come to be called, are mysterious humanoids with glowing eyes, who are found at the site of active Rifts, especially those that are newly opened and about to close.They generally keep a low profile and ignore all attempts to communicate with them, their sole concern seems to be watching the activity around Riftst. If approached they will teleport to a new vantage point and if attacked they will defend themselves with the Stun or Banish power first. They will do their best not to permanently harm any being they come across. They generally remain at a Rift until whatever they wished to witness occurs, but will Teleport away as a last resort.The infamous dimensional scholar, Vigo Perrin, believes they are the followers of the Titan, Argus and act on his behalf in recording and cataloguing the Rifts. Perrin claims to have spent several weeks with Argus at the Titan's Manse in the clouds above what used to be Denver, CO. He claims that Argus is served by one-hundred Bystanders, though he refers to them as his Skopes. BYSTANDERAttributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d10, Strength d8,Vigor d8

Ancient masters of Rifts Earth, they left it, scattering out into the Megaverse, only to find their home has been invaded by dimensional entities and nearly destroyed. Now they plot to save their world while being stalked by the an unknown enemy.

True Atlantean

• Brave and True: True Atlanteans begin with one Major Hindrance of their choice.

• Leyline Sense: True Atlanteans begin with the Ley Line Walker ability from the Savage Rifts Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide. She may also take the Ley Line Phasing Edge at Veteran Rank or higher.• Marks of Heritage: True Atlanteans are given two tattoos at the age of six. The first, a bloodless heart with a stake through it, causes vampires to have a -2 to attack rolls against her. The second, a flaming sword, allows her to summon a silver longsword as an action.• Racial Enemy:The Sunaj will hunt and attempt to destroy any True Atlantean they come across.• Sense Vampire: True Atlanteans can sense the presence of a vampire within 1000 feet of her, but does not know how many or where the are.• Stunning: True Atlanteans begin with a +2 to Charisma.

Bear-like D-Bees found mostly in the Southeastern portion of the American Empire, they stand 4 to 6 feet tall and have six eyes. Bayou Ursines generally prefer simple village life of hunting, fishing, drinking, and card games. Many of them are addicted to drinking and gambling and the majority of them are career criminals.

Bayou Ursine

• Bad Reputation: Bayou Ursines are distrusted by most folks, usually because they are known for thievery. They suffer –2 Charisma when dealing with the average person in most towns and cities.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Sulqs have been coming through a fairly stable Rift for the last three years. Milo Gibraltar, a noted expert on the Megaverse, believes they are scouts due to the fact that they don't simply hunt the area surrounding their Rift, but travel far and wide. They are naturally psionic and use their powers to stalk their prey.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

In the Afterworld, the remnants of the faithless remain behind, determined to destroy the false gods who walk the land.

AGGRONOSTIC 6 (18)

Motive: To cull the ranks of the GodsEnvironment: AnywhereHealth: 18Damage Inflicted: 6Armor: 2Movement: ShortModifications: Initiative action 7, Intellect defense 7Combat: Aggronostics are empowered to tear at the defenses of the young Gods walking the Afterworld.

Faithless: The Difficulty of Domain Abilities are 1 higher for Gods within Short distance of an Aggronostic.Doubter: They inflict 3 damage that ignores armor.

Interaction: Aggronostics believe that the Afterworld is plagued by false gods and seek to caul their ranks. They are very difficulty to reason with.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Zenith Moon Warper are often confused with werewolves and other anthropomorphic wolves. Z-Warpers, as they sometimes known, are sleek and slender humanoids with the heads of wolves and natural psionic gifts. They are generally selfish and willing to use, steal from, and even murder and eat those they choose to prey upon. Z-Warpers are always looking for the next score and will go to nearly any means to accomplish their goals. However, when they find true love or a true friend, they are fiercely loyal.

• Distinctive D-Bee: See the Savage Rifts Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide. Zenith Moon Warper's can hide their true nature.• Limited Metamorphosis: A Z-Warper is able to adopt a single human form for a limited amount of time each day. He can adjust his form's facial structure and skin tone each time he changes shape. At midnight he reverts back to his true form for 1d6 hours.• Moon Warped: Zenith Moon Warper's Strength improves two die steps, he gains +4 M.D.C. armor, and +10 I.S.P. during the six nights of the full moon.

• Natural Psionic: Zenith Moon Warper's begin with the Arcane Background (Psionics) Edge, and start with the following three powers: invisibility, slumber, and teleport. If a Zenith Moon Warper chooses an Iconic Framework providing Arcane Background (Psionics), he follows all the normal rules for the Framework except three of his starting powers are the ones listed above (even if not normally allowed to that Framework). The Zenith Moon Warper gains one additional power to his starting total (e.g., a Zenith Moon Warper Burster starts with four powers, a Zenith Moon Warper Melter with six)• Nightvision: Zenith Moon Warper's have Infravision.• Predator: Zenith Moon Warpers begin with the Bloodthirsty Hindrance

Thursday, June 23, 2016

About two feet tall and grizzled, but not misshapen, they live beneath the ground. Here they wear tiny versions of standard miner's garb and commit random mischief, such as stealing miners' unattended tools and food.

Their name comes from the knocking on the mine walls that happens just before cave-ins – actually the creaking of earth and timbers before giving way. The knockers were malevolent spirits and the knocking was the sound of them hammering at walls and supports to cause the cave-in.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

I want to take a moment to share how happy I am that the Savage Rifts Player's Guide became available last night and how well Pinnacle Entertainment Group handled the massive demand for the PDF and came up with alternative solution in mere hours.

General Dynamic was a Pre-Rifts international corporation who had several facilities within what is currently known as the Rhinelands. One of the facilities was the home of a special defense project for artificially intelligent war machines. Several of these constructs have found their way out into the wild and our very, very dangerous.Activated Dreadnoughts seem to randomly choose an area of less than 5 acres as their "territory" and actively defend it with extreme prejudice.DREADNOUGHT

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Monster Mercs are part of the private security firm, Black Mountain, which has numerous contracts with private corporations and governments around the world. While their specialty has always been operating within theaters of war, a number of cases involving fortean or paranormal properties presented themselves to their agents in the early days of the twenty-first century.Black Mountain's board, after taking time to confer with their clients and friendly government agencies, decided to greenlight recruiting agents better equipped to deal specifically with these types of cases.Project: Abyss was formed and is overseen by Dr. Solomon King, a noted paranormal investigator, his project manager, Sybil Harkness, and Hannibal West, an expert in bleeding edge science.The initial class of agents for the Monster Mercs, as Sybil calls them, are Naomi Stein, a young Israeli woman who's life was saved by limb grafts and an upgraded nervous system; Lonnie Talbot, a former english teacher from the Ozarks who has contracted lycanthropy from an astronaut; K.A.R.N.A.C.K, an artificial entity found in one of the Great Pyramids and used as payment by the Egyptian government for services rendered, West was able to reboot him; and Eden Good, a witch and expert on the occult.Dr. King is currently recruiting a second class of agents, as Black Mountain feels the Monster Mercs billable hours to be far worth their investment.The group is currently operating out of an old cannery outside of Albuquerque and has access to a full-time support crew of eleven support personnel.Their first three cases have been successful: they have dealt with an ISIS cell in Afghanistan that had summoned a djinn to their service; infiltrated and broken up a cult to the Black Goat of the Woods, that a Senator from New Jersey's daughter had joined; and liberated a Plexico Oil Research Station in Alaska from d'rro after the crew had stumbled upon an underground listening post for the subterranean humanoids.

Due to my vacation last week, I just got around to downloading my Worlds of the Cypher System Kickstarter copy of the Monte Cook Games' Gods of the Fall for the Cypher System and I am very impressed. While it crossed my mind that I could run an Exalted style game with the setting, the material not only comes through, but infinitely more useful than that.I know I've been very attached to Savage Worlds of late, but don't be surprised if I'm tinkering with the Cypher System again.I hope to get around to a review, but have a couple others I need to do first.If your on the fence about picking it up, take the plunge, you won't be disappointed.PS - I just want to give a shout out to everyone at MCG. Your products, professionalism, customer service continue to impress me.#GodsOfTheFall #MonteCookGames #WorldsOfTheCypherSystem

Sunday, June 19, 2016

• Cannibalize: When you consume a humanoid or undead corpse of size 0 or larger, you heal 1 wound.• Death Becomes You: You begin with the Ugly hindrance.

• Forsaken: You begin with the Outsider hindrance.

• Living Dead: You begin with one Major hindrance of your choice.

• Shadow Resistance: You take 1/2 damage from powers with the Necromantic trapping.• Touch of the Grave: When you score a Raise on an attack roll, you may choose to make a Vigor roll instead of dealing bonus damage. On a Success with the Vigor roll you heal 1 wound and each Raise heals an additional wound.• Will of the Forsaken: You may spend a Bennie to gain a +4 on Trait rolls to resist the Confusion, Fear, Puppet, and Slumber powers.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

My family and I arrived in South Carolina today to start our vacation in a beach front house. I had hoped to have a stockpile of posts ready, but that didn't happen in the mad dash to prepare for the vacation.

Thus far, the experience has been wonderful and I look forward to recharging my batteries with the whole family on the Atlantic Ocean.

This is really the first vacation of this type that I've taken as an adult, simply get away and relax.

I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope to get some stuff posted, but no promises until 6/20, when I return to the real world.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

• Berserking:You may spend a Bennie to treat your action card as an Ace of Spades.

• Da Voodoo Shuffle: You gain a +4 to Trait checks to overcome anything that would impair your Pace.• Hostile: You begin with the Bloodthirsty hindrance.• Isolated Upbring: You begin with the Clueless hindrance.• Regeneration:You begin with Slow Regeneration per page 154 of the Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

• Brawn:When you get a Raise on a Fighting roll, you deal 1d8 bonus damage, instead of 1d6. Additionally, you gain a +2 to Faith when using the Greater Healing and Healing powers.

• Nature Resistance:You take 1/2 damage from powers with the Lightning trapping.• Noble:You begin with the Code of Honor hindrance.• Reverence for Nature:You begin with the Vow (To Preserve Nature) hindrance.

• War Stomp: You may spend a Bennie to make a Strength roll, on a success place a small blast template centered on you. Any creature the template touches must make a Strength roll (-2 on a Raise) or be Shaken.

Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10 (1)Equipment:• Coral Blade Str+d10• Net The Naga's Shooting skill roll is opposed by the target’s Agility. Success indicates partial restraint so that the target suffers a –2 penalty to Pace and skills linked to Agility and Strength. A raise restrains the target fully. He cannot move or use any skills linked to Agility or Strength. Each following action, an entangled target may make a Strength or Agility roll to break free. Other characters may also attempt to free the ensnared person by making a Strength roll at –2.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

The small port town of Aurora, Southwest of Covingtown, has been brewing whiskey for centuries and has been a haven for poisoners and necromancers since the coming of the Rifts. Thirty years ago, Aurora was besieged by a pride of Rahu-Men and the only way to they drove the invading D-Bees out was by raising an army of the dead through the prowess of a loose coalition of death mages, known as the Rising Sons. Since that time the Rising Sons has grown in membership and prominence within Aurora and the many farms that surround it. While they like having a say in the direction of the town, none of it's nearly twenty members have any real interest in running the town and are keen to allow the Mayor, Olivia Dunsany-Pike, take care of most matters. The Risings Sons' most prominent contribution was the creation of the Casketeers, a militia and labor force, maintained and commanded through necromancy. Several hundred Casketeers are always active, doing physical labor and patrolling the area. However, when a threat arises, thousands of Casketeers are kept in underground tombs and can be activated by any of the Rising Sons.CASKETEER

Heroes and Horrors is a simple version of DnD 5E that merges old and new.

At the moment, I'm choosing Race as a Class. When making a character, you choose a Background from 5E and when it applies, you have Advantage on your Ability roll. Ability Modifiers would be per 5E (at the moment). Weapon damage would be per Class (so weapon choice would be cosmetic). Saving Throws would mimic 5E's Death Check, roll a d20, equal or exceed a 10 and don't add Ability Modifiers. Max level would be 20 (for now). AC from armor and shields would be per 5E. You add the appropriate Ability Modifier to any Ability or Damage roll. Here is how Two-Weapon Fighting works: if you hit on your melee weapon attack roll AND your d20 roll is Odd, you deal an additional 1d6 damage.

CLERICHit Die: d8.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.

Weapon Damage: d8 (One-Handed) or d10 (Two-Handed).

Spellcasting: Spells known and spells per day are per the Cleric in DnD 5E. Wisdom has no affect on Saving Throws.

Turn Undead: Any undead that can see or hear you, within 30 feet must make a Saving Throw or be Frightened for 1 minute or until they take damage.

DWARF

Hit Die: d12.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.

Weapon Damage: d10 (One-Handed) or 2d6 (Two-Handed).

Bonus Attacks: Starting at 9th level, you make 2 attacks per round.

Darkvision: You can see in complete darkness out to a distance of 60 feet.

Magic Resistance: You have Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison and Spells.

Stonecunning: You have Advantage on Ability rolls while underground to Detect Traps and Secret Doors, or Notice If A Passage Is Sloped.

ELF

Hit Die: d6.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.

Weapon Damage: d6 (One-Handed) or d8 (Two-Handed).

Bonus Attacks: Starting at 11th level, you make 2 attacks per round.

Keen Senses: You have Advantage on Ability rolls when Searching for Secret Doors.Fae Ancestry: You have Advantage on Saving Throws to resist paralyzation.

Nightvision: You can see at night out to a distance of 60 feet.

Spellcasting: Spells known and spells per day are per the Sorcerer in DnD 5E. Charisma has no affect on Saving Throws.

HALFLINGHit Die: d6.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Light and Medium armor and All shields.

Weapon Damage: d6 (One-Handed) or 2d4 (Two-Handed).

Agile: You have Advantage on ranged attack rolls.

Quick: You may use a bonus action to Disengage or Dodge.

Small: You have Advantage when Hiding.

FIGHTERHit Die: d10.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any.

Weapon Damage: d10 (One-Handed) or d12 (Two-Handed).

Battle Hardened: You gain a +2 to Saving Throws.

Bonus Attacks: Starting at 7th level, you make 2 attacks per round and at 13th level, you make 3 attacks per round.

Combat Reflexes: You have Advantage on Initiative rolls.

Martial Training: You have Advantage when attacking with weapons.

Weapon Specialization: Choose one particular type of weapon, you roll a critical hit on an 19-20.

MAGIC-USERHit Die: d6.Armor/Shield Permitted: None.

Weapon Damage: d4 (One-Handed) or d6 (Two-Handed).

Spellcasting: Spells known and spells per day are per the Wizard in DnD 5E. Intelligence has no affect on Saving Throws.

Specialist Wizard: Choose a Spell School to specialize in, when you cast a spell from that school that requires a Saving Throw, your target has a -2 to their Save.

THIEFHit Die: d8.

Armor/Shield Permitted: Light armor.

Weapon Damage: d6 (One-Handed) or d8 (Two-Handed).

Backstab: When you surprise a target in melee or ranged combat or an ally is within 5 feet, you gain Advantage on your attack roll and an additional 1d6 to the damage roll.

Rogue: You have Advantage on rolls to Climb, Find Traps, Hide in Shadows, Move Quietly, Open Locks, Disarm Traps, Pick Pockets, and Decipher Languages.Dabbler: You may cast spells from scrolls.

Thieves' Cant: You know the language comprised of hand signals and hidden signs used by Thieves.

Friday, June 3, 2016

• Every Man for Himself: When your Pace is reduced in any way or someone is trying to control your actions, you may spend a Bennie to make a Spirit roll, with a success your Pace is restored or you regain control of your action.• The Human Spirit: You begin with two Minor hindrances or one Major hindrance of your choice.

• Weapon Specialization:You gain a +1 to Fighting rolls with great swords, long swords, mauls, and warhammers.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

• Escape Artist:You gain a +2 to all Agility rolls to escape bonds, enclosures, and traps.

• Exiled:You have a-4 to Charisma when dealing with Troggs.

• Expansive Mind:You gain a +1 to one Smarts based skill of your choice.• Inquisitive: You begin with the Curious hindrance.• Shortblade Specialization:When only wielding daggers or short swords, you draw one additional action card and use the highest.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

As big a fan of DC Comics' Weird War stuff, my favorites are the Creature Commandos. I'm brainstorming a modern setting for the idea, right now the working title is Monster Mercenaries (Monster Mercs and Monsters of Fortune were also considered--if you have an opinion on the name, please tell me).

Here is a Pre-Generated Novice Character:

Naomi served in the Israeli military for eight years, before a terroist attack left her comatose and missing all four limbs and her left eye.

Her father, Colonel Ira Stein, had heard about Dr. Solomon King's Project: Abyss for Black Mountain Security and hoped he could help. Colonel Stein was willing to do nearly anything to have his daughter back.

While Dr. King was reticent, his advisor Sybil Harker, assured him that her visions showed that Naomi would be an important member for the Project in the future.

Solomon brought in Hannibal West, who was continuing his Uncle Herbert's work. While Dr. King was dubious about his methods, the Board signed off on West's plan, mostly out of respect for Col. Stein and funding from several powerful donors he brought on board.

Nearly 18 months to the day that Naomi arrived at Project: Abyss, her rehabilitation was complete. West had grafted new limbs and and a new eye from several "donors" to the young woman and was able to prevent rejection of any kind.

Naomi, Lonnie Talbot, K.A.R.N.A.C.K., and Jericho Good became the first recruits for Project: Abyss, a special security division of Black Mountain that use fringe science and hermetic theory to tackle the increasing number of cases that were too...horrific and insane for a even government black ops teams. Project: Abyss was prepared to fight monsters with monsters. The Monster Mercs were ready for a fight. Naomi is still coming to terms with her situation as a member of the Monster Mercs. West revealed that her limbs came from a soldier in Afghanistan who had been exposed to "chemical weapons" and her eye was from a deceased army sniper. He also revealed that he employed several neurological "upgrades" from an anonymous donor and electroshock therapy was used to revive her from her coma. Overall, the experiment has made her stronger and tougher than she was before and West refuses to explain exactly why, though he has alluded to the "chemical weapons the enemy used on her limbs and Black Mountain's unparalleled access." She is self-conscious about the many scars she has, which West shows little empathy for, saying merely "Your welcome, next time I might use you for parts." Additionally, she has a large amount of anger over her injuries and finds that she has a powerful need to make her enemies pay for what's happened to her.